"Oh HOOOOLY NIGHT!"

We kicked off Christmas by getting a tree last Friday and then celebrated our choice by having hamburgers at The Old Timer. It was packed and they had just finished decorating so it seemed like a nice place for a post-tree-picking dinner. The piano player was playing Christmas songs and Katie stood on the seat of our booth and belted out the tunes. She didn't know many of the words but sang "Oh Holy Night" like an old pro. We decorated the tree on Saturday. Katie was not that interested at first. She did her States puzzle as we started with the lights. She wanted every ornament up REAL HIGH once she decided to help. On Sunday, we went to the Rotary Club's pancake breakfast with Grampa. Katie spent her time between bites of pancakes scoping out the room to make sure Santa was in her sights and preferably far away from her. We went to the Elks in the afternoon for their annual party. This is about as close as we got to Santa. Santa sent his best helper, Uncle Kevin, in one of his warm, red suits to help distribute gifts. I don't think Katie realized the Santa's best helper was related to us. It didn't matter. She was still not going near him. When I told her that Santa was going to give her a gift she kept waving her hands around and saying "YOU go get it!" I told her that she didn't have to sit on his lap but if she wanted the gift, she needed to go and thank Santa. When they called her name, we went up together and she said "thank you Santa" in a soft voice. As we were walking away, Katie swung her head around and yelled "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" to Santa. Now she keeps telling everyone that Santa is a good guy who gave her a snowman present.

Gobble.Gobble

I took a break from blogging over the Thanksgiving holiday but I'm getting back on track. We spent Thanksgiving this year with the Perusses down at the Cape. Chad ran in the Chatham Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning with our friends from the Conti/Herold clan. After that, we headed to their house in Harwich to hang out before the T-giving festivities began. After a fabulous and filling Thanksgiving dinner, the Silvermans came for dessert and Katie was able to play with someone her own age- cousin Ella. Here are the two of them doing a puzzle together... ...and a little wilder when they did there best imitations of turkeys. Gobble, gobble! We are now in winter and Christmas mode. Katie is really enjoying all the lights and decorations this year. We also had our first real snowfall. Katie could not get out to play fast enough. Here she is bringing Chad his boots so they could make a snowman. Our neighbor Lily came over to enjoy the snow. It's a toss up between who likes to the snow the most: the kids or the dog!

I Like Your Hair

Katie said some funny things last week. I think her personality is coming through since she's becoming more verbal. Here are some favorites...

"I like your hair like that. You look beautiful." "Mom, you're my best helper." --A phrase I usually use when I'm trying to cajoling her into doing something. "I checkin' my email." --While writing on a post-it note with a pen. "What a minute, I have an idea. Peanut butter for lunch!" "Want to see my naked? " --This kid will do anything to run around naked. "I like it. It's really fun there." --When I asked how daycare was last Friday. "Where did Massachusetts go?" --When we drove to visit friends in Providence and I mentioned we were in Rhode Island after driving over the border.

Happy Halloween 2009

Katie was a cow this Halloween. She was inspired by a cow at Davis' Farmland called Pinky Dinky Doo. My cousin Paula made an adorable cow costume for her now-college-age daughter that she loaned us. She looked so cute and seem to really enjoy Halloween this year. Abby's costume was a loan from my friend Diane who bought it for her golden retriever Maggie. As always, Abby was a trouper. She wore the costume for 2 hours and helped Chad greet our trick or treaters. She was a huge hit and even had her photo taken by one little boy. One of the funnier moments of the night was when Katie was being asked a couple questions about being a cow and was asked "Where does milk come from?" She said "From the 'fidgerator!"

The town had a Jack O' Lantern Festival which was being held before I picked up the cow costume. Thankfully it was a warm night so Katie went as a chef!

G.G.Crab

We are pleased to welcome G.G. Crab to our household. He was a birthday gift to Katie from my Aunt Janice and Uncle Kevin. He's named after Uncle Kevin who is known to a few people as G.G. (Grumpy Grampa). G.G. Crab is an active, little guy. We periodically let him out to stretch his crab legs. Katie was a little fearful at first but now enjoys seeing G.G. run away. It's hard to keep him on the table but if we put him on the floor the poor thing gets covered in dog hair. If you are wondering why his shell is so colorful, it's because it's painted like Spongebob Squarepants. G.G. lives on the kitchen counter so we don't forget to take care of him. Some mornings, it's every man (or crab) for himself!

GOOD MORNING!

Katie finally realized that she can open the door to her room and turn on the lights from her crib. This is her greeting me after her nap. Last weekend, she opened the door at 6:15am and yelled "Hey Mom! What you doin'?" I said "I'm sleeping." Katie responded "Where?" I said "In my bed." She said "I done sleeping. Come get me!" It's harder to ignore because the echoing voice into the hallway makes it so much louder than before. Fortunately, the novelty wore off a few days later. Walking to her bedroom you can see light, dark, light, dark, light, dark, light, dark.... We got her on that one by shutting off the lamp instead of using the light switch. She gets up early enough when it's dark in her room! Say cheese!

M & Ms

Katie will probably hate me for this picture later on but she looks so proud that I had to snap this photo. Potty training has now come to our house and is no longer a daycare-only phenomena. For motivation, we give Katie two M&M. As soon as Katie hits that seat, she says "I NEED my M&Ms!" She's doing great but we may need to move to stickers.

Going, going and gone

GOING.... GOING... GONE! I think the birch tree in our yard was technically dead when we bought the house. If not, the ice storm last December officially did it in. Since it was precariously hanging over our roof and the neighbor's porch, we decided to take it down before the tree-we-were-avoiding-dealing-with turned into the giant hole in our roof. We're on a roll with house projects. Here is Chad finishing up some painting...

2 going on 22

Katie turned two and seems to have grown up overnight. Ok, slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. Katie had a first last week. She went on the potty. She was very proud and excited but it seems to be only an occurrence that happens at daycare. She isn't that interested in it at home.

She is starting to become choosy about what she wants to wear and is insisting on dressing herself. Even her language seems older. I asked her the other day whether she wanted a drink and she responded "I'm good!" She is taking an active interest in cooking, both in her kitchen and in mine...

...and it looks like I might have some competition for my shoes soon but that seems to have started awhile ago.

Lookin' Good at Two

Katie really enjoyed her 2nd birthday. She had an Elmo cake that she loved. It took us a few days to open the gifts because Katie wanted to play after each gift. She went to the doctor for her annual check up on Monday. She kept saying "What Dr. Cleary doin'?" every time the doctor wrote a note. She was shy at first but as the doctor and I continued our conversation Katie started belting out songs so loud we could barely hear what each other was saying. She now weighs approximately 29 lbs and is 36 inches. Not sure how acurate the measurements are. She was not happy about their testing. She would rather dazzle them with a tune.

Happy 2nd Birthday Katie!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY KATIE! We love you! Here is a photo take right after she was born. Here is Katie enjoying the cake from her first birthday party. Looks like the dog is enjoying it as well.

Hello Fall!

I thought summer was busy but the fall is turning out to be busier! We’ve had parties, Patriots games, golf tournaments all while trying to squeeze in a few home improvement projects like painting the front of the house. A few highlights: Here is the house mid-scrapping and pre-primer. Chad is diligently working on that project. Rain delays have cause a couple set backs but so far, so good. I was a little late for this and only offered minimal help but proudly volunteered for the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund last Friday. This organization put together 300 care packages to Mass soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s a great local organization and here is the link if you are interested in more info: www.massmilitaryheroes.org. Organizations like this can always use more support. Katie took her first trip to the Zoo on Monday with Grammie and Tom. She was wondering if there would be sea lions and beluga whales like at the Aquarium but I told her most of the animals are land animals. She didn’t really grasp that concept. When I got home from work, she told me all about the giraffe eating hay, the elephant with the big ears, the deer that ate corn out of her hand and the rhinoceros (rhin-offer-uth) who went inside to eat lunch. I learned about a lot more animals as the night went on. It was great because she is learning about animals that live in the rainforest at daycare. Each day we get a new craft project that Katie has made at Josie’s. Here is her with a monkey. The mouth is cut upon so you can feed it paper bananas. She loves it! Next up is Katie’s 2nd birthday which is this Saturday. Uncle Stephen, her godfather, has a birthday this week too so she’s been singing “…HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE STEPHEN AND ME!...” I don’t think she knows that we’re suppose to sing to her so I’m curious to see if she’ll sing Happy Birthday to herself on Saturday.

Last Week of Summer

I guess this is the unofficial last weekend of summer. It's starting to feel like fall when I take Abby on her 6am walks. Katie has even begun particiapting in the preschool cirriculum at daycare so it feels like school started as well. She came home talking about the rainforest which is the first subject they are learning about. When I asked her where the rainforest was, she said "at Josie's house!" Here is Katie and one of the masterpieces she created at daycare.

Let's Get Cookin'

Katie's been interested in cooking lately. Here she helping me make pancakes... ...and enjoying the finished project.

Vacation. It Was Nice While it Lasted.

Vacation is over and we are back at work and at daycare. It was nice to have a full week off and we combined it with a few trips and some stay-cation activities. We went down to Old Lyme, Connecticut to visit our friends Randy and Jess. Jess's family has a great place close to the beach. The first day was a little overcast so we went to the Mystic Aquarium. It's recommended if you are in that area. Katie is still talking about Coco, Surfer and Boomerang who are part of the Sea Lion Show there. They made a big impression. Later that day, we roasted some marshmallows for s'mores. Here is Katie....she's a natural. She also was very concerned about the status of the fire. More wood! Next day was a great beach day so that's where we headed. Beach trips are a little tough with someone who sleeps mid-day but we managed. Abby had a vacation of her own and was sent to stay with Auntie Joanna, Uncle Rob, Ella and Molly (the cat). I'm sure Molly was thrilled. Abby returned on Wednesday and the rest of us decided to visit a local favorite- Davis Farmland. It was a hit with the girls and Chad, Joanna and I really enjoyed it too. As we were leaving there we a bunch of goats napping on the walkways. So cute. On Thursday, we went to Nana and Papa's house down the cape for some more beach and visit. Overall, a great vacation. My only complaint is that I wish is were longer.

I Want an Elephant.

We had a busy week leading up to today but now we are officially on vacation. Hooray! Katie's had some funny things to say now that she is getting a little older and speaking in sentences. The comments are getting funny...and kind of random. Katie: "I want an elephant." "I like onions." Not true... "I hear a birdie. He's tweetin'. He's havin' breakfast. I WANT CEREAL!" at 5:45 in the morning. "Oh Dear..." "Help me my mommy." "Thank you my daddy." "Kitty havin' supper." This is what we tell her when we see the neighborhood cats walk by the house and then disappear. "MUSIC TRUCK!" Usually shouted during the daily appearance of the ice cream truck. She doesn't know yet that it sells ice cream, thankfully. My favorite: Chad: "Katie, do you want to go outside?" Katie: "Yeah, Grab a beer!" Here is Katie with her "Boo Boo Kitty" ice pack. It's getting some action lately thanks to alot of outdoor play. It heals all boo boos. Legitimate and imaginary boo boos.

Happy Birthaversary

We’ve been teaching Katie how to say Happy Birthday so last week when she tried to say Happy Anniversary it worked the first couple times but morphed into Happy Birthaversary. Katie left this message (with help) for me and Chad on the driveway.

Not only did we celebrate our third anniversary but we were able to hang out with the other couple we spent our anniversary with this week. Sounds a little weird that we honeymooned with other people but David and Dawn were the captain and chef of the catamaran where we spent part of our honeymoon. They were visiting the Boston area on a stop from the British Virgin Islands to the UK. Here we are sailing. It was nice to see them and reminisce about our time in the BVIs. I wish I was there now!

Three years!

Chad and I were married on July 22, 2006 making today our (drum roll) third wedding anniversary! I thought I would post a few pictures to reminisce.

Where did the swimming pool go?

We joined my cousin Stephen on his vacation in the Lakes Region of Maine, specifically Tripp Lake. We pulled into the drive way and Katie yelled “SWIMMING POOL!” I had to think for a second but I’m pretty sure that Saturday was the first time that Katie had ever seen a lake. I explained to her that it was a lake but one morning she looked out the window at the fog-covered lake and said “Where did the swimming pool go?” Ocean, pool, lake…she loves them all! We had three days of good company and fabulous weather. The lake is great for swimming and hanging out. Katie would walk into the lake and just keep on going. She didn’t even slow down as the water got deeper and deeper. Here is Steve helping Claire and Katie with a sandcastle. Even Abby came to Tripp Lake. She loves to swim. Katie enjoying a swim with her many floaties. The S.S. Kerrigan moored for the night.